The League One season is well underway, with the majority of teams having played at least seven or eight games so far. 

Cardiff City currently top the league with 17 points, ahead of Bradford City only on goal difference. The play-off spots are currently held by Barnsley, Stevenage, Doncaster Rovers and Huddersfield Town with Lincoln City and Wigan Athletic just outside.

Whilst the likes of Cardiff, Barnsley and Huddersfield are expected to be up there, there are several teams staking an early claim to be potential “dark horses” for the title.

The experts at The Football Deck podcast League One Lowdown picked their dark horses for the season as well as putting it to a public vote as part of their weekly Sky Bet Fan Feature. 

League One Dark Horses

Hosts Sam Griffin and Callum Davis discussed their picks for the league’s dark horses on this week’s preview episode titled “This Year’s Dark Horses Are… League One Preview” released on the 18th September on YouTube and streaming platforms.

The hosts also put their four choices to a public vote, which will dictate the order of the clubs below.

4th Stevenage -4%

Stevenage only picked up 4% of the public vote, despite sitting in 4th place, the second highest of the four clubs mentioned. Their 16 points from their opening seven games is promotion level form and Alex Revell should take huge credit for such a wonderful start.

They have only lost one game so far, against Huddersfield Town which is now shame for any side in the division with the huge strength in depth they boast in the squad. The Terriers had the likes of Joe Taylor on the bench at the start of the game, who would start for the majority of clubs in the division.

Speaking on the 4th placed finish in the votes host Sam added:

“This surprised me me a little. If they keep everyone fit, there is no reason why… especially with their home form, they couldn’t go on to do really well.” 

Callum added:
“With the ‘light horses’ I suppose you call them not doing as well as they would have hoped. The likes of Stockport and Plymouth, Wycombe falling off and Blackpool and Peterborough are nowhere to be found. There is a really good opportunity for sides like Stevenage to be up and about those promotion spots.”

“I think we’ve seen that there is a different side to Stevenage especially going forwards. 

“Out of possession, they are very much the same old Stevenage, Piergianni means they are very physical and battle for every ball. 

“But going forward they’ve got that pace, that flair, the directness. They have a goal scorer in Jamie Reid who looks fully fit this season.

3rd Lincoln City – 11%

Michael Skubala’s Lincoln City have again started strong, and although they sit in the lowest position of the four sides in this poll they have performed well. The club lost many of their star players over the summer including captain Paudie O’Connor, Sean Roughan, Jovon Makama and Ethan Erhahon and were slow in the transfer market to replace them.

However, the manager, the players and the team as a whole have been ready to fight for every point. This has been evident in the fair play table, which has seen them drop to last place after picking up more red cards and yellow cards than any other side.

Callum, a Lincoln City fan backed his side to be the dark horses of the league.

“The flexibility in that squad is incredible and whether this is dark horses for the title, top two or play-ffs they have to be up there”
“I don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves, we aren’t even a quarter of the way through the season yet. But Lincoln, its tight at the top and I would not be surprised to see Lincoln occupy one of those play-off spots at least.”
“They have read the market very well and brought in players that add quality as well as loan players than can just come and slot in where required. 
“Some of their existing players like Freddie Draper and Rob Street have stepped up a level. Street has done what Makama did last season and stepped out to the wing and performed like a player reborn. 

2nd Doncaster Rovers – 35%

In second place, and one of two promoted sides is Grant McCann’s Doncaster Rovers. They sit in 5th place, third of the three teams in this poll. The club have performed well, but came unstuck in spectacular fashion at the hands of Wigan Athletic last time out, losing 3-0 which has, highlighted some weaknesses in the squad. Their other loss came at the hands of Huddersfield Town who routinely dispatched them 2-0 which could show that whilst Doncaster have the strength to compete against the majority of sides in the division, the stronger clubs may find them out.

Sam adds:
“What worries me about Doncaster is their lack of goals. They are a good side with an experienced manager, but you feel if they concede they may struggle against some of the quality defences in the division to fight their way back. 

“That being said they are still an impressive side and they are up there on merit. It would not surprise me to see them keeping pace with the top two at the end of the season. 

1st Bradford City – 50%

Top of the poll was Bradford City, who have taken to League One like a duck to water. Graham Alexander has found a way of winning and with their huge crowd of loud fans behind them Valley Parade could become a fortress this season.

Sam stated: “We’ve been very complimentary of how quickly they’ve adapted to League One. 14 Goals scored, 10 conceded. Their massive stadium and they are holding themselves like the big club they are again. 

“There is that pressure on the players from the fans but Alexander seems to know how to ge tthe best of them. They have got the likes of Will Swan scoring, and the boss seems to know how to get the best out of every player in his team. 

“They have players like Billy Pointon who is performing well and loves the club and still have Andy Cook to call on later down the line when he returns.